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Graylog vs ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer vs Splunk Enterprise Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Graylog is 6.6%, up from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is 0.8%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk Enterprise Security is 7.4%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

Andrey Mostovykh - PeerSpot reviewer
Real-time analysis, easy setup, and open source
We stopped using it for analytics because of its price, and at the moment, we are using it mostly for log centralization. If you use it with high traffic for analytical purposes, as well as for the logs, the infrastructure costs are unbelievable. Graylog is a great product backed by Elasticsearch as the storage and query engine. It is just an interface on top of Elasticsearch and some Elasticsearch management. The indexes that are kept in Elasticsearch are managed by Graylog software. Elasticsearch is a decent product, but it's very infrastructure-heavy. It requires lots of resources, and if you make a mistake with provisioning, you are likely to not get a cluster back. We had a couple of outages like that, and we hated that. So, we ended up over-provisioning resources just to avoid such situations from happening. If you have a whole team trying to fix the Graylog instance for two days, that's a bit too much. That may be my Norwegian take on it, but the engineering resources are expensive. It's better to just provision the infrastructure. Overall, the product is great, and the features are just fine, but the infrastructure cost is what is killing it. The infrastructure cost is the main issue. I like the rest. If the infrastructure costs could be lower, it would be fantastic. I'm not sure if they can improve the infrastructure cost with the way Elasticsearch is. If they keep using Elasticsearch, maybe there are some opportunities there, or they can support other backends with cheaper storage. They could have a different backend to replace Elasticsearch or do some tweaks to Elasticsearch to reduce the costs. There could be partial parsing of logs or parsing on demand so that when you write data through Graylog to Elasticsearch, it doesn't need to crunch in every detail requiring that much CPU.
Abdul  Hakim - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient log management enhances activity monitoring despite VPN user issue
Last month, we faced an issue with a Hawaiian VPN user activity. It's like a Fortinet device configured for VPN users. When a VPN user logs in, it doesn't really capture the time before this. If you're testing with existing or new device integration, then the product will be good in the market.
ROBERT-CHRISTIAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Has many predefined correlation rules and is brilliant for investigation and log analysis
It is very complicated to write your own correlation rules without the help of Splunk support. What Splunk could do better is to create an API to the standard SIEM tools, such as Microsoft Sentinel. The idea would be to make it less painful. In ELK Stack, Kibana is the query language with which you can search log files. I believe Splunk has also a query language in which they search their log files, but once you have identified the log file that you want to use for further security correlation, you want to very quickly transport that into your SIEM tool, such as Microsoft Sentinel. That is something that Splunk could make a little bit less painful because it is a lot of effort to find that log file and forward it. An API with Microsoft Sentinel or a similar SIEM tool would be a good idea.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Open source and user friendly."
"I like the correlation and the alerting."
"We're using the Community edition, but I know that it has really good dashboarding and alerts."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its new interface."
"Allowing us to set up alerts and integrate with platforms we already use, such as Slack and OpsGenie to alert users of these errors proactively, is also a very useful feature."
"One of the most valuable features is that you are able to do a very detailed search through the log messages in the overview."
"It has data adapters and lookup tables that utilize HTTP calls to APIs."
"It is used as a log manager/SIEM. It provides visibility into the infrastructure and security related events."
"I have made use of technical support and am certainly very satisfied with them."
"The log management has helped to improve my organization."
"The reporting features are noteworthy, as they provide templates that streamline the process of generating reports"
"The support system is very good."
"The tool's reports show activities."
"It's one of the easiest products. It's very simple to use."
"It is stable."
"The initial setup is straightforward"
"The initial setup is simple, not very complex. Initial deployment takes around 10 to 15 minutes to set up the entire base for Splunk including all three tiers."
"Easy to deploy and simple to use."
"Splunk's schema on demand is incredibly useful. I do not have to worry about what my users will need when we onboard their data."
"You can integrate Splunk with third-party security automation solutions and set rules for automatic response."
"The solution is very fast and succinct."
"The fact that Splunk is a platform and not just a SIEM solution is a key benefit."
"If you want to understand how it can analyze or find out incidents, the visibility is good."
"The alerts are very effective."
 

Cons

"Graylog needs to improve their authentication. Also, the fact that Graylog displays logs from the top down is just ridiculous."
"The infrastructure cost is the main issue. I like the rest. If the infrastructure costs could be lower, it would be fantastic."
"When it comes to configuring the processing pipeline, writing the rules can be very tedious, especially since the documentation isn't extensive on how the functions provided for these rules work."
"Elasticsearch recommendations for tuning could be better. Graylog doesn't have direct support for running the system inside of Kubernetes, so it can be challenging to fill in the gaps and set up containers in a way that is both performant and stable."
"More complex visualizations and the ability to execute custom Elasticsearch queries would be great."
"There should be some user groups and an auto sign-in feature.​"
"We ran into problems with Elasticsearch throwing a circuit-breaking exception due to field data size being too large. It turned out that the heap size directly impacted this size in a high-throughput environment, causing unexplained instability in Graylog. We were able to troubleshoot on the Elasticsearch size, but we should have been able to reference some minimum requirements for Graylog to know that our settings weren't sufficient."
"Lacks sufficient documentation."
"I would like to see more detailed reports."
"The solution is stable. However, there are limits. For example, we can do 2,500 Syslog events per second, but if we want to do more we have to install the distributor structure, and then we can expand how many events we can do. They could improve the stability."
"It may not be as easy to use as Splunk."
"The solution should improve on its log capturing capabilities."
"There isn't good security integration when it comes to cybersecurity. The correlation of logs isn't so simple."
"Last month, we faced an issue with a Hawaiian VPN user activity."
"The first tier of customer service and support is not great."
"What I'd like to see as an improvement to ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is for it to be more AI-driven. Having more automation would also make the solution better."
"The licensing price is high and has room for improvement."
"While Splunkbase (the app repository) has a lot of great content, some apps are terribly old and could stand to be updated or purged."
"An improved user interface along with multi-tenancy support would be beneficial."
"The training was mostly sales-focused, like how to monitor your sales. It was hard to then come back from doing the training and try to switch it to a cybersecurity focus because all the training we did was sales oriented. The basic training didn't really touch on any kind of cybersecurity use cases or anything like that. That would have been great to see in the training."
"The first thing that comes to mind is a little bit of UI improvement. It sometimes can be a little bit buggy or it can be a little bit slow, but that varies from customer to customer."
"We'd like Splunk to reduce false positives."
"The biggest problem is data compression. Splunk is an outstanding product, but it is a resource hog. There should be better data compression for being able to maintain our data repositories. We end up having to buy lots of additional storage just to house our Splunk data. This is my only complaint about it."
"Licensing costs can be a barrier for those with limited budgets."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Graylog is a free open-source solution. The free version has a capacity limitation of 2 GB daily, if you want to go above this you have to purchase a license."
"Having paid official support is wise for projects."
"I use the free version of Graylog."
"There is an open source version and an enterprise version. I wouldn't recommend the enterprise version, but as an open source solution, it is solid and works really well."
"Consider Enterprise support if you have atypical needs or setup requirements.​"
"If you want something that works and do not have the money for Splunk or QRadar, take Graylog.​​"
"​You get a lot out-of-the-box with the non-enterprise version, so give it a try first."
"It's an open-source solution that can be used free of charge."
"There is a yearly subscription for the solution."
"ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is a low-cost solution. It costs approximately $1,000 per month per server for a perpetual license."
"Licensing for ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is paid yearly."
"We paid for the license of the solution and the deployment. The price of ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is less expensive than other solutions."
"ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is expensive. Its licensing costs are annual."
"There is a license required for these solutions. The customer can choose the license type, such as an annual license purchase or a perpetual license. If the customer wants maintenance they will have to pay annually."
"Splunk Enterprise Security is an expensive solution."
"I believe that Splunk Enterprise Security is worth the price, but it is expensive."
"We had a yearly subscription."
"Splunk Enterprise Security is a worthwhile investment given the comprehensive range of features it offers."
"Further reductions would be fantastic, and I believe that more and more people would flock to it."
"Splunk Enterprise Security is not a cheap product, but I think it is worth every dollar that you pay."
"It's more expensive than the other tools, but it's worth it. Every penny is worth it."
"Splunk's cost is very high. They need to review the pricing. They have to go back and totally readdress the market."
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Comparison Review

VS
Feb 26, 2015
HP ArcSight vs. IBM QRadar vs. ​McAfee Nitro vs. Splunk vs. RSA Security vs. LogRhythm
We at Infosecnirvana.com have done several posts on SIEM. After the Dummies Guide on SIEM, we are following it up with a SIEM Product Comparison – 101 deck. So, here it is for your viewing pleasure. Let me know what you think by posting your comments below. The key products compared here are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
8%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
20%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Graylog?
The product is scalable. The solution is stable.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Graylog?
We are using the free version of the product. However, the paid version is expensive.
What needs improvement with Graylog?
When it comes to configuring the processing pipeline, writing the rules can be very tedious, especially since the doc...
What do you like most about ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer?
The reporting features are noteworthy, as they provide templates that streamline the process of generating reports
What needs improvement with ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer?
Last month, we faced an issue with a Hawaiian VPN user activity. It's like a Fortinet device configured for VPN users...
What is your primary use case for ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer?
I find this solution useful for IT devices as a live stream to work with Syshun, serving as both the router and the t...
What SOC product do you recommend?
For tools I’d recommend: -SIEM- LogRhythm -SOAR- Palo Alto XSOAR Doing commercial w/o both (or at least an XDR) is a...
What is a better choice, Splunk or Azure Sentinel?
It would really depend on (1) which logs you need to ingest and (2) what are your use cases Splunk is easy for ingest...
How does Splunk compare with Azure Monitor?
Splunk handles a high amount of data very well. We use Splunk to capture information and as an aggregator for monitor...
 

Also Known As

Graylog2
EventLog Analyzer
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blue Cross Blue Shield, eBay, Cisco, LinkedIn, SAP, King.com, Twilio, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Moody National Bank, EnCircle, Goldleaf Financial Solutions, Inc, IBM, Ernst & Young, Micro Linear, Silverbeck-Rymer Solicitors, Provincial Court of British Columbia, Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, OGILVY & MATHER, E! Entertainment, Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Splunk has more than 7,000 customers spread across over 90 countries. These customers include Telenor, UniCredit, ideeli, McKenney's, Tesco, and SurveyMonkey.
Find out what your peers are saying about Wazuh, Splunk, Datadog and others in Log Management. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.